


Lockdown

by kittyofnight



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy didn't die, Inspired, M/M, Post-Stranger Things 3, Quarantine, lockdown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23449057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyofnight/pseuds/kittyofnight
Summary: Steve grabbed the remote control and flipped to the news.Billy barely bothered listening.  It wasn’t surprising news that they had a lockdown for the whole state.  Some bigger cities had had one for a while.“Are you okay, Dustin?  Have enough food in the house?” Steve checked.  Of course it was Henderson who’d called.There had been runs on grocery stores for a month now.“Just… I’ll check in every so often.  Stay safe,” Steve told him.He’d probably want to hear from his ‘kids’ daily, and they’d want to hear from him.Steve turned off the tv.  They really hadn’t needed more than a couple sentences.“So… I guess we’re stuck here for a while,” Steve said.Billy stared at him.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 2
Kudos: 85





	Lockdown

**Author's Note:**

> I definitely have used fandom and fanfiction as an escape from all the news, but... this quick story came to me, and I had to write it.

*****Billy*****

Steve got the phone call when they’d been fooling around on the couch. They’d been doing that a lot more lately. School had been cancelled, and Steve’s job at the video rental store had cut back on hours. Steve had volunteered to not take shifts, because he didn’t need the money as badly as most. Because he had a house to himself after it seemed like his parents had given up pretending they actually lived in Hawkins once their son was out of high school. But, they left him with a credit card. He was still thinking about trying to be a sheriff’s deputy. He thought he’d be more hurt than help with no one having time to train right now. Billy wasn’t going to try to convince him otherwise.

Steve was always going to answer the damn phone when he worried someone might be in trouble.

Steve grabbed the remote control and flipped to the news.

Billy barely bothered listening. It wasn’t surprising news that they had a lockdown for the whole state. Some bigger cities had had one for a while.

“Are you okay, Dustin? Have enough food in the house?” Steve checked. Of course it was Henderson who’d called.

There had been runs on grocery stores for a month now.

“Just… I’ll check in every so often. Stay safe,” Steve told him.

He’d probably want to hear from his ‘kids’ daily, and they’d want to hear from him.

Steve turned off the tv. They really hadn’t needed more than a couple sentences.

“So… I guess we’re stuck here for a while,” Steve said.

Billy stared at him.

“The ban doesn’t go into effect ‘till tomorrow, and ‘essential activity’ is allowed.”

Because he was an idiot who didn’t keep quiet and get back to having a hand down his pants.

“Yeah, but… do you want to be trapped in a house with your dad for a month? Maybe you’d rather be here? If- Max needs a place, she’s welcome to come, of course.”

What the _fuck_? Harrington was… was asking him to stay over for a month, and then in the next breath inviting his little sister? Little step-sister.

Billy snorted, “Would make it hard to fool around,” he said.

Steve blinked, “I mean… we couldn’t do it like- on the couch, but I have a lock on my door. You- said she already knew you were gay, and you seemed to be getting on better lately? I mean, I wouldn’t want her to _see_ anything but… if you didn’t totally hate the idea of telling her… I’m in favor.”

_What?_

“If Max knew, the whole group would know in five minutes. ‘Friends don’t lie’ and all that,” Billy said. “Byers and your ex would probably know five minutes after that.”

“I mean… I’m not sure about that. And like- if it’s out of concern for me, I don’t care. I think Nancy already suspects… she knows we hang out, and she knows I like guys…”

“Who knows?” Billy asked quickly.

“That I- like guys? I didn’t think that was a secret you needed me to keep. I mean, I told Nancy and Jonathan one night after a couple beers. Before you and I started… hanging out. And I told Dustin the next day. I don’t know if he’s told the other kids or not. I know you think they don’t keep secrets, but I dunno. I mean, I didn’t actually even ask him to keep it a secret. He commiserated about his cool gay uncle and his homophobic grandparents that pretend the man’s boyfriend is just a roommate. But, they both came to Christmas last year, so some improvement. So… I don’t think Dustin suspects we’re doing more than hanging out, and I’d never tell without your permission but- I don’t mind if anyone knows.”

“And what if the whole town finds out?”

“I mean… it’s not illegal because you’re over sixteen. And, you’ll be eighteen… actually during the- lockdown. We’ll have to make it really special- which would be pretty impossible if you were in that house, so you should be here instead,” Steve Harrington grinned nervously. “And I did get the message that your dad’s super homophobic so… better for him to not know until you get out of that house and not look back. I don’t honestly know if my parents would freak out or not. We don’t really like- talk about important things. But they probably wouldn’t find out anyway. I mean, the kids wouldn’t tell anyone if we decided they shouldn’t.”

“I gotta call Max,” he said, instead of dealing with any of that. “Tell her she won’t be seeing me,” he said. He was close enough to eighteen that his father probably wouldn’t be able to do anything, not with all this going on. Idiot reporters using the word ‘quarantine’ every other sentence, when that was only the right word if someone in the house was _actually_ sick, not just trying to not get sick. They were just all supposed to stay the fuck at home, and watch how well that worked out for everyone… 

“Hello, this is Max.”

“I’m not coming home, least until this lockdown is over, maybe never,” he said in greeting. He hated that he’d called the place ‘home.’ It was just because he was talking to Max and she called it that.

“Are- you going to be at Steve’s?” Max asked. _What the hell?_ “Don’t worry, no one’s home, or I wouldn’t say anything.”

“ _Don’t_ tell anyone, and if you tell your friends anyway, make sure _they_ don’t tell anyone,” Billy said. “ _No parents_ ,” Billy reiterated, remembering Mrs. Wheeler. She was the type to gossip.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m happy for you, whatever. Don’t hurt him,” Max said.

Billy bristled, “Not gonna punch his face in again.”

“No- like- don’t get defensive and lash out. He’s not going to hurt you, okay?” I mean, don’t _let_ him hurt you, either, but he won’t. So… don’t hurt yourself either. So like- tell him you like him and stuff instead of just kissing so you don’t have to talk. Or like- _other stuff_ so you don’t have to talk.”

“Not talking to a fourteen-year-old about this shit,” Billy maintained. Because, yeah, he didn’t talk about this shit.

“So- not an excuse that applies to Steve. Have a good time. I’ll be fine here, and I’ll call you if I’m not. I’ll pack some stuff and leave it behind the bush outside your window? I can even make up some girlfriend for you if you want? I’m thinking _Stephanie_.”

“Use a less _stupid_ name,” Billy grunted. “I’ll grab whatever you leave tonight. Thanks,” he added.

He went and sat back on the couch. Their fooling around time seemed unrecoverable. So he opened his mouth and asked one of his least favorite stupid questions, “You alright?”

“I-guess? I mean, I’m pretty lucky, really, just… restless? There’s nothing to _fight_ ,” Steve complained. “Which I never thought I’d actually want. No gate to close. No… other-dimensional creatures to destroy or distract,” he said. Because, yeah, Billy had gotten the run down on all the Hawkins weird shit. “No map or puzzle to solve, no Russians to beat up- because I totally beat up Russians. Just… staying inside and not seeing people I care about. _Some_ of the people I care about,” he clarified. “Thanks for… not leaving me alone,” he whispered.

“Yeah, well… know you don’t like being alone, and I don’t want to be at that house, and…” he thought of Max. “I _like_ you, and shit.”

Steve smiled like… like they weren’t in a shitty situation, “I like you too."


End file.
